It kind of makes me hold my breath. Remembering what colic was like.
I honestly don’t recall if Jemma dealt with it. Six years of motherhood kind of blurs things! Max did a tiny bit. Reid, though. That poor little bud introduced us to colic in a whoooooooole new way.
I remember reading up on colic while Reid’s cries filled our home. Was he just being fussy? Did he want to be held a certain way? Was he tired? Was he hurting?
An article I stumbled across explained it perfectly. I wish I had the link for you! This article broke it down like this … a fussy baby wants to be held, they are particular and are happiest when doing what they want (which you get to guess!), a colicky baby though, they’re hurting. Which explains the non-stop crying.
If you’re in the throws of parenting a colicky little love, remember to soothe … S-O-O-T-H-E. Pretty easy to remember even when your mind is bombarded with sad little cries.
Season
Colic doesn’t last forever. Usually just a few weeks. Sometimes longer, but if that happens definitely chat with your care provider. It’s just a season and you will both survive.
Opinion
Baby’s cries mean something. It’s their way of communicating with us. When they cry and reasonable efforts don’t fix it, always seek out another opinion. Sometimes it that will be your mom or a friend with kids older than yours. Other times it will be your OB/midwife or pediatrician. Basically, if you’re worried, say so. You don’t have to parent alone!
Options
There are products out there that can help! Hallelujah! With Reid we tried and few and I was never really sure if it helped or if he was just phasing out of the colic season. Either way, for this next baby I have my eye on Gerber Soothe® probiotic Colic Drops. They’ve got great reviews and from everything I’ve read Gerber has really done their research on what will help tiny guts.
Timing
The berthing I did with Reid was to catch his colic before it got really bad. When I felt like it was creeping up I started making a chart of what time it was. Once I had a few days tracked, I saw a pattern and did my best to curb the crisis with drops, positioning, location, help, etc.
Help
It really isn’t ideal to weather through colic alone. You need other people to help. Non-stop crying can really wear you down so plan a schedule that will provide relief for you and extra loving hands for your little one.
Environment
When Reid got really worked up, I found that changing the scenery helped. He was partial to bundling up and popping outside for a bit and snuggling up for a mama baby bath.
Aren’t acronyms just the best? I hope SOOTHE helps you survive! You can read more about fussiness and colic here. Such a great collection of information! As is this short video.
Have a colic story or a helpful tips of your own, I’d love to hear!
That tip about charting or tracking fussy times is really smart. Even if we can’t really DO anything to help ease their discomfort, at least we can emotionally and mentally prepare for what’s ahead.